FLASHBACK: Morse Says Democrats Didn’t Go Far Enough On Gun Control

Senate President John Morse, now facing a recall election, is trying to downplay his extreme gun control record. But only a few months ago he was lamenting that his Democratic caucus didn’t want to go far enough.

At the time, KDVR‘s Eli Stokols said Morse “might be the most strident gun control proponent of all 100 lawmakers under the dome.”

In an interview Wednesday, Morse made it clear that he supports an all-out ban on assault weapons and the high-capacity magazines used in recent mass shootings in Aurora and Netwown, Conn.

“They’re not defensive weapons, which is what the Second Amendment, in my view, is about. They’re offensive weapons. They’re attack weapons,” Morse said. “I would love to see us ban assault weapons, but in a way that actually bans assault weapons.”

In Morse’s view, the 1994 assault weapons ban failed to curb gun violence because of its many loopholes allowing numerous slightly modified assault weapons to remain legal; additionally, an effective ban would also address the proliferation of these weapons that’s already taken place.

Morse ended up a proposing a bill that would have held gun manufacturers liable for any violence committed with the guns they sold. At the time, Democratic State Representative infamously dubbed Morse’s bill “crazy…absolutely nuts.” Other legislators compared the bill to holding Ford responsible for drunk driving accidents, or Zippo liable for the actions of arsonists.

For recall proponents, stories like this KDVR article present a perfect argument for why Morse needs to go now — in his mind, the fight for gun control isn’t over. His agenda isn’t finished.